Cage and Drum Reels

Skeleton reels represent an almost uniquely American contribution to the world of vintage tackle, but it would be unwise to overlook the more conventional reels made in the USA.

Ocean City Model 76

Instantly recognisable, the Ocean City 76 enjoyed a long history. Earlier models had a much more elaborate adjustable drag, - this later version has a simple caliper spring, but it was this later version of the '76 that was exhaustively copied and rebranded, with a number of versions manufactured in Japan and sold under the Shakespeare and Berkeley labels. 0154

Angler Rainbow 71

This really is a most remarkable reel. Not because of its design or technology, which is completely unremarkable,no - it's because it is apparently invisible. Despite a number of similar reels appearing for sale in various locations, there appears to be absolutely no information available anywhere about the maker, heritage or date of this simple single-action fly reel. At one time w I had some idea it was a late Meisselbach product, but can find no evidence to support this.0155

​Pflueger "Medalist" 1493

No exploration of American made reels can possibly be without the Pflueger Medalist. First appearing in the Enterprise Manufacturing Company catalogue in 1931, and the 1495 Model made it's first appearance in 1938 with the introduction of the Medalists iconic adjustable drag. 0164

Pflueger "Gem" 2094

A close stable-mate of the Medalist, the Gem entered the catalogue at about the same time but as the Medalist line developed with its characteristic patent adjustable check, the Gem remained very much the same throughout its career. Early versions sported a horseshoe latch and smaller drag sprocket. This particular reel is from 1949 according to the inspection date on the box. 0165

Bronson "Royalist"

The "Royalist" was one of the later products of a company that claimed to be the biggest manufacturer of fishing reels in the world with an output at the time of up to 1,000,000 reels a year. The Royalist 370 was first offered in 1951 and features an interesting patented adjustable drag using an arrangement of springs that can easily be converted from RHW to LHW. The reel continued in production until the 1970's, at which time the company was sold to True Temper and shortly afterwards, wound up.0160

Bronson Reel Company for Sears

You might spot a certain family resemblance in these two reels. This is another product of the Bronson Reel Company, again towards the end of the company's tenure when many of their products were being made for department stores and catalogue companies.0161

South Bend Finalist 1144

There is some discussion as to whether South Bend actually manufactured their own reels. In the exploration of skeleton reels it looked very much as if South Bend products were made initially by Winchester then subsequently by Shakespeare. This makes perfect sense when you look at the evolution of the South Bend Bait Co. Their earliest products were carved wooden baits, expanding into rods with the acquisition of Cross Rod and Tackle in 1922. By 1935 the workforce had reached 250, of whom the majority were members of the United Furniture Workers Union, which would suggest that operations consisted mainly of wooden lure and bamboo rod manufacture.

This reel is from a period when the South Bend operation was owned by Gladdings, originally a line manufacturing concern from NY State and who purchased South Bend in 1964. It was a time when it was fashionable, for whatever reason, to move manufacturing processes abroad, and this reel was actually made in Japan. Mechanically it owes a great deal to the Pflueger Medalist and was clearly intended to compete with it in the marketplace. Interestingly, Gladdings also owned the UK reel makers K P Morritt at this time and imported a similar pattern reel into the UK under the Intrepid brand. 0162

South Bend Finalist 1122

From the same period as the reel above, this 3¼" reel has a very simple caliper check. In this case, the reel was assembled in Hong Kong. 0163

Shakespeare "Russell" 1893

This is an example of an early model of the Shakespeare Russell reel. The lack of date letters on the reel back (of which more later) show this to be a pre-1935 reel, but not the earliest model which had straight drag springs rather than the "wishbone" arrangement seen here. This twin-spring pattern for the check has many admirers and is considered to be far better than the simple single spring check used on later models... 0157

Shakespeare "Russell" 1894

...like this one. The date code on the back plate of this reel, a practice introduced in 1935, shows this reel to have been made after 1941, and though superficially similar to the Model 1893 above, the crucial difference can be seen in the checkwork. Gone is the elegantly designed and adjustable pair of drag springs to be replaced by a standard check and pawl assembly. 0156

Horton Manufacturing Co., "Bristol" No. 66

The model 66 was introduced to the Bristol catalogue in 1940 in what was described as "no flash gunmetal". In many ways this is also a "no flash", or perhaps "no frills" reel. The Horton Manufacturing Company acquired the notable reelmakers, B F Meek in 1916 and relocated the Kentucky operation to Bristol, Connecticut, where they continued to produce quality multiplying reels under the Meek brand as well as a pre-war Horton-Meek fly reel, the No. 55. The 66 is clearly a very basic product and is likely to have been made to a price rather than any aspirations to quality. 0159

Martin No 67A

Finally there has to be a Martin reel. The Martin Reel Company began making reels in Mohawk NY some time in the 1880's and is probably better remembered for the range of automatic reels that bear the name. This Model 67A features the Martin helical spring tension adjust for the check and appeared in catalogues as late as the 1980's. 0159

These are all the American-made cage and drum pattern reels currently in Whiteadder's VFFM. One thing that struck me about the reels here the way in which they differ from British made reels of similar vintage and economic placing. Nearly all the British reels in this class were made by machining out alloy castings for both cage and drum. The reels collated here include only two made in this way, the OC 76 and the Angler Rainbow. All the other reels are made by assembling pressed parts for the cage and drum, with the cage formed from a back plate, an annular front plate and a series of spacers either screwed or riveted to form the cage, a method that relates directly to raised pillar and skeleton reels.